Color Me Blue
by DarkBalance
Summary: If Matt had been paying more attention, this wouldn't have happened. As it was, he was way too busy to have much control over his career. Or his manager's idea of what his fans would like.


_Color Me Blue_

_Written for the Too Many Cookies and Titles Set Boot Camps on the DFC._

_Beta'd by the lovely Flaming Platinum._

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><p>Matt realized that he should have been suspicious when his manager called him about the hair appointment she had made. In fact, he <em>had<em> been suspicious. There was just something in the tone of her voice that Matt didn't quite like, something an awful lot like mischief, innocence, and _I'm-not-sorry_ all rolled into one. Something an awful lot like _Tai_ in her voice. But it was only barely there and Matt shrugged it off. He had just wiggled his way out of one of his so-called best friend's schemes; maybe he was still on-guard?

Matt's manager never made him hair appointments before. Matt usually called the appointment in and told his manager afterwards. If it weren't for school exams and Tai's pranks and girlfriend stuff and agency stuff and band practice all colliding into one tightly packed, almost in-navigable schedule, Matt just might have remembered that. He would have remembered that he wasn't due for another hair appointment for two weeks. He would have remembered that he _did _already schedule an appointment, the last time he went in. Unfortunately, Matt had been too busy trying to recall where he even _placed_ his schedule and how much time he had to actually search for it to pay a lot of attention to any of that.

After the final day of exams, Matt very nearly collapsed into Aihara-san's car. There would be two weeks until results were out, most of which Matt would miss for rehearsals, promotions, interviews, and recording. Still busy, but now without school being mandatory, Matt did not need to timetable every breath. He slept while Aihara-san drove.

The first thing that Matt realized when the car stopped was that this was not his salon. That bothered him. He wouldn't have his favorite chair or his favorite magazine or the only hairstylist he's had in _ever._ Matt would not listen to Nakamura-chan banter with Makino-san nor would he have to curb Fujihara-chan's flirting. He felt like he was betraying all three of them, not to mention himself…. Matt felt like he was cheating.

"I already made an appointment with Nakamura-chan!" Matt recalled as he argued with his manager. "Can't we just wait until then?" Aihara-san shook her head.

"What's wrong with this place?" She shrugged nonchalantly. "Everyone at the agency comes here, and I would hate to have driven all this way across the bridge for nothing." Matt frowned, glaring at the storefront. There was a list of things wrong with this place: it was foreign, Matt had never stepped foot in this place before. He didn't know any of the stylists or the regular clients. He didn't know if they played a radio or just chattered away with one another the whole time. He didn't know if he liked any chair in particular or if they had any of the magazines he liked. However, he did know that Nakamura-chan was not here. He also knew that she would he furious if she found out he went to another salon without her permission.

"Fine," he growled, throwing the car door open. "But only once, and only because we're here already." And only because he was planning on getting Nakamura-san a bouquet of flowers the next time he saw her. And perhaps some of that expensive shampoo she loved so much.

Aihara-san led Matt to a short woman with rather young features and cat-eye makeup. Her hair was piled into pigtails high on her head, held with butterfly clips, a mess of dark brown and purple. "Hello! My name is Yamazaki Riko!" she greeted Matt with a large smile. Yamazaki was cute, but Matt wasn't sure that he could suffer that amount of cheerfulness.

"Ishida," Matt returned. "Can you give me a trim?"

"Sure thing, Ishida-san! I'll just set you up for a quick wash!" Matt shot Aihara-san a quick look – which he was positive she was oblivious to – and followed an assistant, feeling even more wary. Nakamura-chan never left his hair to an _assistant,_ not that she even needed one.

oOo

"You said you wanted a trim, right?"

"Yes." Matt answered flatly, not very pleased to be alone with Yamazaki Riko.

"Hmm, you don't sound very happy," Yamazaki remarked.

"I'm not."

"Nervous?"

Matt thought about that for a small moment. Certainly, he was worried about what Nakamura-chan would do to him when he told her that some other stylist, from some big fancy talent-agency salon, had put her hands and combs in his hair. H worried what Nakamura-chan would do to his hair.

"Nope." he answered.

"Wow," Yamazaki gushed. "Most people would be."

"I don't see why," Matt forced himself to lie. "It's just hair." _It's just my most precious asset. It's just my most attractive feature. It's just my relationship with my stylist and the fate of my hair on the line here._

"I like you, Ishida-san." Matt could hear the broad, girlish grin in Yamazaki's voice. He had the wretched feeling that her words really meant, _I am going to tell you everything about me!_

oOo

And Matt was correct, Yamazaki Riko told him everything. She told him why she liked being a hairstylist (_"I always did like touching hair, especially when it's so lovely and soft! Oooh, especially yours. Now I have an excuse to do it all the time!"_), when she first realized her joy for the art, what she did before discovering her talent (_"would you believe that I actually tried to design kimonos at one point?"_), the number of siblings she had and her middle school misadventures (Matt decided he would never repeat any of those stories to Tai, or else he'll give him very, very, horrendously BAD ideas… actually, good ideas, they just meant bad things for Matt). Apparently Yamazaki had skipped high school in the hopes of becoming an idol actress or singer, only she didn't have talent for one and lacked the dedication for the other. By the end of Matt's second wash, he was hit with the fear that he might, possibly, actually _like_ this girl – he even allowed her to apply highlights to his hair. He regretted the decision almost immediately, as after three years, Nakamura was only recently allowed to try highlights. Shampoo and flowers would not be enough to apologize, nor would his Aihara-san-made-me explanation. Matt would need chocolates, conditioner, a new set of rollers, and very possibly a song.

Matt tried to reason that he only liked Yamazaki Riko because she reminded him a lot of Tachikawa Mimi. They both had similarly bubbly personalities, with a certain cheerfulness and outright shamelessness. Mimi was not afraid to experiment with her hair, her clothes, or her talents. She said what was on her mind, _all of it._ Matt always had a soft spot for Mimi, almost like a younger sister. Perhaps that affection was leaking over onto this stranger who behaved just like her. Perhaps he missed Mimi so much that he was letting Yamazaki to share her place for now.

"Wow, he looks really good!" Aihara grinned when she arrived to retrieve Matt from the salon. "You look really good, Ishida-kun." Matt couldn't help the wry smile that curled his lips. He did adore a compliment.

"I know, right?" Yamazaki actually squealed. "He hasn't seen himself yet."

"The agency will love it," Aihara nodded sagely. "And so will the fans, I think." Matt raised a brow at his manager. All he had done was a trim and some highlights. It wasn't as if he had chopped it all off or dyed it some funky color like a lot of other idols and musicians these days.

"Well, I'm finished!" Yamazaki's childishly gleeful face popped over Matt's shoulder. "Want to see?" she did not wait for an answer, just turned his chair around to see the mirror.

Matt very nearly screamed.

"I… I don… I… What?"

"It's great, right?" Yamazaki cheered. "I wasn't sure at first because you looked so upset, but once you told me you didn't care –"

"It's blue." Matt deadpanned, stunned.

"Aihara-san told me I had the pick of shades as long as ultimately, your hair ended up blue. So what do you think?"

"I… I think my hair is actually blue." Matt repeated. "I think I can't go to school like this."

"But don't you think you look more like a rockstar?" prompted Aihara.

"Sure, if my hair was cobalt, or navy blue," Matt agreed. "But my hair is _aquamarine._ How can I look cool knowing my hair is the color of a mermaid tail? _My hair is blue."_ He couldn't help saying it again. Why in the hell was his hair blue?

"That guy from VIXX has baby blue hair," the girl in the chair next to Matt's commented. "He looks pretty brooding."

"There's only so much brooding you can do in an idol group," Matt argued. "Especially in a group with six other guys."

"That's plenty reason to brood," said the girl's stylist. "Seven men, one dorm, and some of that dancing has got to be embarrassing."

"He's in a _group,_" Matt insisted, then continued to mumble, "Clearly he doesn't have any man-pride to begin with." He glared at his reflection. The expression was nowhere near as effective as it would have been had he still been blonde. Matt should have known there was a reason Aihara wanted to make his hair appointment all of a sudden… and taking him to the _agency's_ salon instead of his own… Nakamura was definitely going to need that song. A very deep, very heart-felt song.

"So you don't like it?" Yamazaki's expressive eyes held the beginnings of tears. Her cheeks had puffed into a disappointed pout, and even the curling ends of her hair had started to go limp. Matt took a closer look at his reflection. So maybe his hair was aquamarine. Maybe Yamazaki had trimmed it a little shorter than he was used to. It kind of… worked, if Matt looked at it right. You know, if he squinted with his left eye and closed his right and twisted his head to the side... There was a silvery color at his roots, and the highlights blended well…

Hell. Tai was definitely going to have a laugh, and Sora might not be above doing so either. Mimi might like it too.

No, Matt definitely did not like his new hairstyle. At all.

"Cobalt would have been better," Matt diverted his gaze as Yamazaki's eyes lit up and her grin fell back into place. He wouldn't have told Mimi anything but a lie.

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><p><strong>Please don't forget to leave a review!<strong>


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